One day last month, I was driving along heading to a wedding rehearsal listening to my favourite talk radio station when I heard this statement and I quote “don’t let your dreams get in the way of your happiness”. I thought that was a very interesting comment so I listened for a while then closed down the radio and mulled over what I had heard.

You know what? I learned at a very young age that no matter how much I wanted to be a hockey player, a great athlete or even do a job that required hard physical labour, that it wasn’t going to happen. You see, I was born with a birth injury to my left arm that left me with a physical impediment, or a promise of a life different than that, one that I wouldn’t trade for anything now.

Then there are the dreams that are possible. Dreams like making a million dollars by the time you are 40, dreams of a great job making 200,000 per year with a beautiful home in the suburbs, a beautiful wife and two kids, a pool in the backyard and at least 3 newer model cars in the driveway. Sometimes we become obsessed with making these dreams happen at the expense of our happiness. Have you heard the saying that “when you are dealt a lemon, make lemonade”.

So, you might find yourself doing something less that you dreamed about, making ends meet but very much unhappy about your lot in life. What if you focused on your present situation and what you can do to make the best of what you are doing. What if you thought real hard about what you could do to make your job more efficient and effective. What if you set down and started to look backwards and began counting your many blessings like family, friends and all the good things in life that make you happy. Do so, and you will find your attitude changing. In the midst of all your positive thinking and attitude adjustment you may find opportunity coming from the very place where you least expected it.

There is a book that I highly recommend called ‘The Butterfly Effect’. By Andy Andrews. It is only about a 30 minute read because it is quite small. If you want to be encouraged, please look it up online and buy it. The Butterfly Effect: How Your Life Matters

There is absolutely nothing wrong with having dreams and goals. In fact, if you want to get ahead in life you have to have a goal, a vision and the ambition to get there. What I am saying is that we shouldn’t let our dreams control the way we live our lives at the present. I can’t imagine anyone on their death bed regretting that they hadn’t given their company more hours or worked harder, or not fulfilled their dreams. Most likely the regrets will be that we had our priorities in the wrong place, that we perhaps lost what we loved the most because of our selfish ambitions.

Dream, and dream big, but don’t let it get in the way of being happy and don’t let it get in the way of the really important things of life.